Nottingham Swap with Me event

On 28 August, blind and partially sighted people swapped places with bus drivers and managers from Trent Barton in Nottingham. The event was held to demonstrate the barriers people with sight loss face when travelling on buses.

Drivers and Managers were blindfolded or wore 'sim specs' which simulate different sight loss conditions and experienced boarding a bus, buying a ticket and finding a seat. Blind and partially sighted people were able to sit in the driver's cab to discover the difficulties drivers have when communicating with customers.

Blind and partially sighted attendees also discussed their experiences with staff from Trent Barton. The Manager and Training Manager are keen to improve Trent Barton's service for blind and partially sighted passengers. In order to do this, they offered their direct contact details to the attendees so that they can report any issues they may have with the service in future.

Trent Barton are keen to follow up the event later in the year to find out if any improvements have been made and have even offered to take the blind and partially sighted attendees on a road trip!